#CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Varda Space Industries has raised $90 million to scale up production of systems to manufacture #pharmaceuticals in orbit and return them to Earth.

Varda announced April 5 it raised a Series B round led by venture firm Caffeinated Capital, with participation from Lux Capital, General Catalyst, Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures. The company has raised $145 million to date.

The funding round comes on the heels of the successful conclusion of its first demonstration mission, W-1, on Feb. 21 when the company’s capsule landed at the Utah Test and Training Range. The capsule had been part of a spacecraft launched in June 2023 to test the ability to produce pharmaceuticals in microgravity.

The new funding will allow Varda to scale up production of spacecraft that take advantage of microgravity to produce pharmaceuticals that are not possible or cost-effective to make on the ground.

“We’re really excited to take this

In recent years, the concept of sustainability has transcended Earth’s environment, stretching its significance to the vast expanse of space. With the advent of #satellites connecting directly to smartphones, the imperative for space sustainability is cast into a sharper focus, illuminating the intricate relationship between our technological advancements and the preservation of the #cosmos. This development bridges the gap between space and the average person and underscores the urgent need for a sustainable approach to space exploration and utilization.

#WASHINGTON — Kratos Defense & Security Solutions announced April 4 it completed a demonstration of satellite-based broadband for the U.S. Army using a virtual ground system — a software-defined alternative to traditional hardware-based ground stations for controlling #satellite constellations.

The company won a contract in 2022 to conduct the demonstration for the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications Tactical (PEO C3T) as part of a broader push to modernize voice and data communication for tactical units. The Army is looking for ways to tap into commercial capabilities rather than having to build its own bespoke space networks.

SAN FRANCISCO — #Geospatial analytics company Hydrosat announced its first contract with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration April 4.

Under the $175,000 Small Business Innovation Research contract, #Hydrosat will provide high-resolution measurement of Earth-surface temperatures and geotechnical analysis to offer insights for wildfire, drought, urban heat, agriculture and aquaculture monitoring.

“This contract is significant because it is Hydrosat’s first contract with #NOAA,” Pieter Fossel, Hydrosat co-founder and CEO, told #SpaceNews by email. “The work performed under this contract is pushing the frontier in spaceborne and cloud-enabled surface temperature monitoring, and is closely aligned to NOAA’s missions in weather, water and climate monitoring.”

#WASHINGTON — Scout Space, a startup based in Reston, Virginia, is developing a space domain awareness sensor aimed at the military market as the U.S. seeks new ways to monitor and protect its assets in orbit.

The company on April 4 announced it won a $1.8 million Small Business Innovation Research contract under the SpaceWERX Tactically Responsive Space program.

Scout’s chief executive Philip Hover-Smoot said the company is using a portion of the funding to accelerate the development of #Owl, an optical telescope designed to track objects in space with great detail. This can be valuable for the military in situations where they need to identify a specific type of satellite or even its functionality.

HELSINKI — #China launched its first Yaogan-42 satellite late Tuesday, adding to the country’s growing military #satellite reconnaissance capabilities.

A Long March 2D rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 6:56 p.m. Eastern (2256 UTC) April 2. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced launch success within the hour. CASC’s statement also revealed the previously unknown payload to be Yaogan-42 (01) (“remote sensing-42 (01)”).

The satellite was later tracked by the U.S. Space Force’s 18th Space Defense Squadron (SDS) in a roughly 500-kilometer-altitude orbit inclined by 35 degrees.

SAN FRANCISCO – Orbital Sidekick released first-light imagery April 3 from two hyperspectral satellites launched March 4.

The Global Hyperspectral Observation Satellites (GHOSts) launched on the SpaceX Transporter-10 rideshare flight began gathering data March 18. Both satellites are healthy and going through commissioning, Tushar Prabhakar, OSK co-founder and chief operating officer, told #SpaceNews.

The new satellites, the fourth and fifth in OSK’s constellation, gather data in 468 spectral bands from 400 to 2,500 nanometers with 8-meter resolution.

A sixth #satellite is expected to launch within the year. A #GHOSt constellation of 14 to 20 satellites to provide weekly global monitoring is OSK’s goal

#WASHINGTON — The Defense Department on April 2 unveiled its first-ever strategy to integrate commercial space technologies into its national security architecture. The move signals the Pentagon’s intent to take advantage of private space sector investments rather than rely solely on custom-built government systems.

The Pentagon’s strategy, however, also recognizes there are structural, procedural and cultural impediments the DoD must clear to shift from its traditional model of developing proprietary space systems meant only for military use.

#DoD historically has favored bespoke, custom-designed government systems over commercial off-the-shelf technologies, creating barriers to the adoption of commercial space products and services, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin noted in introducing the strategy.

#Military, #Russia, #China catching up to U.S. in space weaponry, new report finds. Russia has ramped up its space warfare capabilities over the last decade as it seeks to regain Soviet-era military advantages that were lost after the Cold War